In the living room, a niche frames an heirloom Asian chest.
For two decades, the 1930s-era, red-brick residence in Spring Valley played host to top-drawer political and charity fundraisers. Its previously formal interiors provided an appropriate backdrop and suited its longtime owners’ lifestyle. Those staid spaces felt a bit uninviting, however, when the now-retired couple—he was a corporate attorney and she a legislative advocate for child safety—started a new, more private chapter. So they enlisted designer Dane Austin to instill a spirit of joie de vivre throughout.
The clients “wanted to make the home more livable and a happier place to be,” recounts Austin, who relocated from Washington to Boston in 2012 but continues to work with clientele in DC. “The overall goal was to deformalize the spaces and bring in some playfulness and whimsy, while retaining sophistication.”
The empty nesters with two grown kids had meticulously preserved their four-bedroom, 4,500-square-foot abode, having just overhauled the kitchen before Austin and his creative associate, Caitlin McLaughlin, came on board. Their scope of work began with light remodeling, including a primary bath facelift, closet makeovers and an electrical upgrade.
Austin then began reimagining the interiors, using color as one key tool. In his fresh palettes, the wife’s preference for jewel tones, particularly shades of amethyst, is clearly evident. Take the entry vestibule, where Twin Diamond Studios painted a decorative finish featuring rows of purply teardrops on the walls.
The artists’ bespoke handiwork jazzes up several spaces, in fact. In the adjacent stair hall, a watercolor-esque wall treatment marries the studio’s artisanal touch with elements of nature—a recurring theme throughout the project. Austin didn’t have to look far for inspiration. “The finish is reminiscent of the rolling hills surrounding the neighborhood and a stream that passes by the home,” he explains.
In other spots, a statement fabric helped coalesce the plan. A richly hued, color-block print from Kelly Wearstler caught the wife’s eye and kick-started the living room’s scheme. Used for the window panels, the textile resembles an abstract work of art. Textural upholstery fabrics in dusty pastels provide balance, as does a geometric-motif rug woven in earthy neutrals.
A multi-era mix of furniture, including an edited assortment of the owners’ existing treasures and family heirlooms, fills that space and others. “We enhanced their belongings with supplemental pieces and custom-made items, as well as vintage and antique finds,” Austin relates. “The furnishings truly feel as though they were curated and collected over time.”
One of the living room’s seating arrangements pairs a wing chair passed down from the wife’s grandmother with a mid-century-style sofa, a brainchild of Austin. The other grouping combines Art Deco-inspired pieces—a flirty, fringed settee and curvy club chairs—with a 1950s, travertine-topped coffee table designed by Bertha Schaefer.
In the front dining room, nature returned as a muse. Flowering shrubs outside the windows inspired the palette. Hand-painted in a shimmery shade named Hydrangea, a striated wall covering from Twin Diamond Studios’ own line adds verve. To Austin, its iridescent color also recalls “the sunset at a golden hour where the sky blushes with lavender hues.”
The room’s appointments evoke a mid-century vibe as well. A vintage, Sputnik-style chandelier hangs over a new table based on a timeless Finn Juhl design. Two ’50s-era, Italian, colored-glass-and-brass sideboards found on 1stDibs flank the fireplace. “Vintage and antique pieces carry forward a story from another time period and bring it into the present,” notes McLaughlin, who joined Austin and the wife in the hunt for compelling finds. “Their effect in a space is really transformational.”
Although the owners report using all their updated spaces these days, daily life is centered in the family room, which flows across the rear of the home. At one end, a casual-dining zone, established around an existing window seat, adds function. A Roman shade showcasing a painterly botanical print in autumnal tints dresses that large side window. On the walls, lustrous grass cloth with a metallic backing provides the perfect foil.
“While there is color and pattern, it’s well-tamed by warm neutrals,” Austin says of his approach to the interiors. “There are moments of whimsy among a larger expanse of sophisticated neutrals. There’s still a sense of being rooted in Washington, DC.”
The upstairs primary bedroom, where a grass-cloth wall covering conjures a calm backdrop, further illustrates the point. Shades of amethyst reappear in the pussy willow-patterned drapes, velvet-upholstered bed and luxe linens. The ensuite bathroom’s faux wall finish lends organic appeal; an existing vanity received a fresh coat of creamy paint. The wife’s office down the hall is awash with lavender tones too. While the kids’ earmarked bedrooms on the second and third floors remained the same, lower-level guest quarters and a hangout space received vibrant, decorative redos.
“All the rooms are pulled together with their own schemes,” observes Austin, “but there’s still a continuous thread and harmonious color palette that runs through them.” The relaxed yet elevated tableaux support the couple’s new phase and somewhat more casual entertaining style. As the designer reflects, “In the end, we’re simply setting the stage for a life well-lived.”
Interior Design: Dane Austin, principal; Caitlin McLaughlin, creative associate, Dane Austin Design, Boston, Massachusetts, and Washington, DC. Contractor: Wilderworks, Cabin John, Maryland. Styling: Limonata Creative.
RESOURCES
THROUGHOUT
Walls: Custom through twindiamonds.com.
FOYER
Chandelier: hvlgroup.com. Rug & Tiered Stand: Owners’ collection.
LIVING ROOM
Drapery Fabric: kellywearstler.com for Lee Jofa through kravet.com. Drapery Fabricator: rockvilleinteriors.com. Chest & Coffee Table: Owners’ collection. Rug: carpetimpressions.com. Chair, Ottoman & Loveseat: Maria Borges. Sofa Design: daneaustindesign.com. Sofa Fabric: Lee Jofa through kravet.com. Wing Back Chair: Owners’ collection. Purple Lamps: shophwangbishop.com. Chairs by Fireplace: americaneyewdc.net. Chair Fabric: casamance.com. Coffee Table: Vintage through 1stdibs.com. Art: goodwooddc.com. Loveseat Fabric: romo.com. Floor Lamps: Suzanne Kasler through visualcomfort.com. Round Table: sebastianherkner.com.
DINING ROOM
Chandelier: Vintage through 1stdibs.com. Table: Custom through finnjuhl.com. Chairs: hinescompany.com. Chair Fabric: mooreandgiles.com. Art: Dan Kahoe. Drapery Fabric: kravet.com. Drapery Trim: samuelandsons.com. Rug: Owners’ collection.
BREAKFAST NOOK
Chairs: Marie Borges. Chair Fabric: osborneandlittle.com. Banquette: Lee Jofa for kravet.com. Wallpaper: phillipjeffries.com. Shelving Wallpaper: bradleyusa.com. Rug: carpetimpressions.com.
STAIR HALL
Rug: carpetimpressions.com. Round table: Antique. Acrylic Stools: americaneyewdc.net. Acrylic Stool Fabric: nobilis.fr/en. Light Fixture: hvlgroup.com. Handrail & Bannister Paint: finepaintsofeurope.com.
PRIMARY BEDROOM
Bedstead: Custom through daneaustindesign.com. Headboard Fabric: romo.com. Drapery fabric: zoffany.sandersondesigngroup.com. Drapery Fabrication: rockvilleinteriors.com. Motorized Shades: hunterdouglas.com. Rug: carpetimpressions.com. Light Fixture: curreyandcompany.com. Bedding: matouk.com. Chair & Ottoman: bakerfurniture.com. Chair & Ottoman Fabric: S. Harris for fabricut.com. Table: sebastianherkner.com.
PRIMARY BATH
Tub: mtibaths.com. Rug: vintage. Vanity & Countertop: refinished through twindiamonds.com. Art: vintage. Sconces: hvlgroup.com.